Christmas Miracles
by Dawntigerr
Summary: AU / On Christmas Eve, Marinette was left waiting in the snow - but maybe, who finally showed up is better than who she was waiting for.


I started writing this all the way back in 2012 as a Fairy Tail fanfic, but could never figure out some parts until now. I'm not into Fairy Tail anymore though, so... I switched the names and details, and here it is, my first Miraculous Ladybug fic!

I was inspired by annequinox's one-shots, In the Snow and Midnight Light. Check them out if you like Fairy Tail :)

* * *

Marinette sat on a bench outside a shopping mall near the outskirts of town. It was evening on December 24th and a light snow was falling. Her hands were growing numb, and she silently scolded herself for not wearing gloves or her not as cute, but warmer, coat.

Several minutes passed as the snow got heavier and heavier. It was a rather empty spot, and only a few people passed by. She had looked at each one, hope showing in her eyes. But they all ignored her, walking right past. They had finished their last-minute Christmas shopping, and were all heading home to their families, a brightly lit tree, and a nice, warm bed.

But here she was, waiting in the freezing cold for someone who was supposed to come 30 minutes ago. She reminded herself that her boyfriend wasn't exactly the most punctual person ever; he had probably just forgotten the time and would come soon, with a smile kind as always, as if nothing was wrong.

She tugged her hood closer around her face and hunched over, holding the small gift bag on her lap tightly against her chest.

A phone dinged.

She jerked her head towards the sound.

A figure in black was walking past, looking at his phone. His hood was up, his face hidden, but a tuft of light hair stuck out.

Nope.

Not him.

She sighed, her eyes following him as he disappeared into the whiteness. He was probably another lucky person heading to a nice, warm home. Or maybe he was like her and his girlfriend didn't show up, or maybe he was heading to meet his girlfriend right now. Lucky girl...

She unzipped her purse, the sound strangely loud in the silence, and pulled out her phone.

Slowly, she clicked a few buttons before holding it to her ear.

Riinngg…riiinnggg…rinnggg…riiinnggg…

"You may leave a message after the beep."

Beeeeep…

"A-Are you coming?" She spoke as if she expected an answer right then.

But of course, no answer came. Just another little beep, and she sighed again, sliding the phone into her pocket.

Five more minutes passed as snow continued falling from the darkening sky. Marinette seriously felt like she was going to develop frostbite if she stayed out here much longer. She'd received no reply to her message, and it was obvious now that her boyfriend probably wouldn't come. He didn't like the cold anyways. And he was never this late.

They hadn't been dating long, but they had known each other for a long time. Not exactly friends, more like acquaintances. They'd always gotten along well though, and she'd liked him for quite a while before finally getting up the courage to ask him out. This mall had a lot of colorful lights and a large Christmas tree around this time, and Marinette had simply wanted to admire them together, hoping to grow closer to each other.

A tear slid down her cheek as she reached for her phone again. She repeated the process of calling him, only to receive the same result. After multiple tries, always cutting the call short before the message part, she gave up. She tightly clutched the phone in her hand, as if it would stop her tears.

She had honestly believed that this would work out – that they could become something. That she could finally have the relationship she'd dreamed of her whole life. But it was clear now that she'd been wrong.

She unlocked her phone again, going to her texts, but this time looking for someone, anyone, else to talk to. A friend was most recent, from their excited conversation earlier that day about their respective Christmas Eve dates. She typed out a short message, but her finger hovered above the send button. Of course her friend would want to hear about what happened - but she was probably all cuddled up with her own boyfriend watching Christmas movies at this moment. Marinette really didn't want to ruin someone else's night too. But no, she knew that later she'd regret keeping her emotions bottled up right now. She hit send. After a few moments no "read" popped up, so she scrolled down the rest of the list, but nobody else seemed right. Her other friends were probably all busy with their own partners or family too. They probably wouldn't even look at their phones right now. Nobody would be there to tell her that he was an idiot for standing her up and that she deserved better anyway, that it was all going to be okay.

She felt so alone in the snow covered expanse around her.

A few minutes later, she sniffled one last time and wiped her eyes, coming to a resolution. She wouldn't naively wait here for him any longer. Standing up, Marinette brushed the snow off her shoulders and hung the gift bag on one wrist before burying both hands in her pockets. She started walking, the bag bumping against her thigh, retracing her footsteps from before that were now buried under the newly fallen snow.

"WAIT!" A male voice shouted, and she heard snow crunching under someone else's feet.

She turned, hope burning in her eyes, and saw the man from before come to a stop a few feet in front of her. He bent over, his hands on his knees, breathing heavily. His hood had fallen back, revealing a messy mop of blonde hair that was fast becoming adorned with tiny snowflakes.

"I'm so sorr-" He broke off as he lifted his head, his mouth parted slightly in surprise, his eyes wide with shock.

"Um…do I know you?" Marinette hesitantly asked, a bit freaked out.

"I don't believe so," the man replied, quickly composing himself and straightening up.

"Then why-"

"Ah, uh…don't you go around apologizing to random people? Wonderful hobby it is, yes yes."

She stared at him, now completely freaked out. "Are you like...a stalker?"

Why the hell did she ask him that? It was obvious he was. She should run. Now.

"Hey, sorry. I was joking!"

"Yeah, right," she muttered, feeling irritated now that the immediate shock had worn off. She turned sharply, and the next moment was on her hands and knees in the snow.

"Are you okay?!" He sprang to her side, a hand out to help her up, only to slip and fall himself.

Their eyes met, one sprawled on his rear in the snow, the other kneeling with her bare hands poised to shove deep into her pockets. Despite herself, Marinette giggled. The man's face softened and his eyes filled with mirth as he burst out laughing.

"I guess it's pretty icy," he said, once he was finally able to stifle his laughter.

"Yeah, I guess so," she replied, standing up and brushing snow off her pants.

"You know, I heard "icy" is an easy word to spell," he said lightly as he sat up properly, but made no attempt to stand.

The look she gave him was a mixture of confusion, disbelief, and annoyance, as if he'd just said the dumbest thing ever. "Yeah? I mean it's only 3 letters."

"Yeah, I realized, I see why."

The edges of her mouth perked up as realization dawned on Marinette, quickly dropping again as she let out a groan. "You're just going to sit in the snow and tell puns? I was going to help you up, but maybe I won't now."

"Hey! I saw you smile! Don't deny it was a good one!"

She just stared at him, one eyebrow raised, still slightly annoyed at the whole situation in addition to her already bad mood.

"Gosh, you don't have to be so _cold_ about it. Just _chill_ and help me up, Ice Princess." He lifted a hand expectantly, with a smile more innocent than any kid she'd ever babysat.

She glanced away in exasperation, wondering why she'd ended up here with such a weirdo and how to get away, but there was nothing but snow in her line of sight. Suddenly, an idea sprang to mind. She sighed deeply, and looked him in the eye. "S _no_ w way."

This time it was his turn for realization to slowly dawn on him. "You said one!" He grinned, in her opinion, way too big for someone in this situation, "Admit it! You like puns!"

"I wouldn't say I like them, but _icy_ their appeal."

"You...I see...? Oh my god! Another one! You're almost as good at this as I am!"

Marinette rolled her eyes and held out her hand, failing to hide a smile. "Come on, get up before I change my mind."

"Aw, don't give up now-" He stopped short as he took her hand and pulled himself up, his joyful grin falling as soon as their fingers touched. "You're freezing! Why aren't you wearing gloves!" He clasped her hand tightly between his gloved ones.

"I'm okay," she jerked her hand from his grasp and stuck it back in her pocket, her mood suddenly turned sour at the reminder that she'd been out in the cold so long. "I should go home now."

"Can't I at least get you a hot drink or something to apologize?"

"You don't have to do anything, it's not your fault…" All she wanted to do right now was go home and curl up in bed, not hang out with a stranger.

"You're shivering though!" He exclaimed, the worry obvious in his voice.

After a moment of deliberation, Marinette just shivered again and nodded. She had to admit, a hot drink sounded good, and if she went home, where she was completely alone, she'd just immediately break down and cry herself to sleep.

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One more chapter!


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